U.S. patent number 4,967,647 [Application Number 07/402,470] was granted by the patent office on 1990-11-06 for air supply for a coffee maker.
Invention is credited to Alan M. King.
United States Patent |
4,967,647 |
King |
November 6, 1990 |
Air supply for a coffee maker
Abstract
An improved beverage machine such as a coffee maker in which air
is injected from a suitable air supply so as to agitate the coffee
and water mixture as the coffee is brewed so as to increase the
amount of coffee that is extracted. Various embodiments are
disclosed wherein the air is injected at different times in the
brewing cycle for different brewing structures.
Inventors: |
King; Alan M. (Westmount,
Quebec, CA) |
Family
ID: |
23592025 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/402,470 |
Filed: |
September 5, 1989 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
99/280;
99/287 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J
31/32 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47J
31/32 (20060101); A47J 31/24 (20060101); A47J
031/32 (); A47J 031/36 () |
Field of
Search: |
;99/279,280,287,289R,289T,297,300,32R,32P,305,316,318,320
;426/433 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Jenkins; Robert W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hill, Van Santen, Steadman &
Simpson
Claims
I claim as my invention:
1. A beverage dispenser, comprising a brewing chamber for brewing a
beverage, a control means which controls a brewing cycle, and means
for injecting air into said brewing chamber controlled by said
control means so as to improve the efficiency of the brewing cycle,
and wherein said brewing chamber has an upper brewing chamber and a
lower brewing chamber with a brewed coffee outlet, and a porous
separator and filter between said upper and lower brewing chambers,
means for dispensing coffee and hot water into said upper brewing
chamber, a piston moveably mounted in said lower brewing chamber,
driving means connected to said control means and connected to said
piston to move it, and said means for injecting air into said
brewing chamber connected so as to inject air into said lower
brewing chamber.
2. A beverage dispenser according to claim 1 wherein said means for
injecting air comprises an inlet into said lower brewing chamber
and an air supply connected to said inlet.
3. A beverage dispenser according to claim 2 wherein said air
supply comprises an air pump connected to said inlet and a motor
connected to said air pump and said control means connected to said
motor.
4. A beverage dispenser according to claim 3 including a coffee
outlet formed in a lower portion of said lower brewing chamber.
5. A beverage dispenser, comprising a brewing chamber for brewing a
beverage, a control means which controls a brewing cycle, and means
for injecting air into said brewing chamber controlled by said
control means so as to improve the efficiency of the brewing cycle,
and including a piston moveably mounted in said brewing chamber,
driving means connected to said control means and connected to said
piston, an opening formed in said brewing chamber at a position
between the highest and lowest points between which said piston
moves, means for dispensing coffee and hot water into said brewing
chamber through said opening, a porous separator and filter
extending across a lower portion of said brewing chamber, a
collection chamber attached to said brewing chamber below said
porous separator and said filter and said means for injecting air
into said brewing chamber injecting air into said collection
chamber.
6. A beverage dispenser according to claim 5 including a two-way
valve connected to said collection chamber moveable to a first
position to allow said means for injecting air to inject air into
said collection chamber, and moveable to a second position to allow
coffee to pass from said collection chamber to a beverage
holder.
7. A beverage dispenser according to claim 6 wherein said control
means is connected to said valve means to move it between said
first and second positions.
8. A beverage dispenser, comprising a brewing chamber for brewing a
beverage, a control means which controls a brewing cycle, and means
for injecting air into said brewing chamber controlled by said
control means so as to improve the efficiency of the brewing cycle,
and including a piston moveably mounted in said brewing chamber,
driving means connected to said control means and connected to said
piston, an opening formed through said piston from the top to
bottom thereof, a one-way valve mounted in said opening to allow
coffee and hot water to pass downwardly through said opening, but
not to allow coffee and hot water to pass upwardly through said
opening, an outlet chamber, a porous separator and filter mounted
between said brewing chamber and said outlet chamber, and said
means for injecting air supplying air into said brewing chamber
below said piston and above said porous separator and filter.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to beverage brewers and in
particular to a novel coffee brewer in which air is injected in the
brewing cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inventor of the present application has obtained a number of
patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,859 entitled "Coffee Brewer"
which issued on Dec. 20, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,023 entitled
"Coffee Brewer" which issued on Dec. 30, 1986 and U.S. Pat. No.
4,193,321 entitled "Cam Arrangement" which issued on Mar. 18, 1980
and U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,875 entitled "Timing Mechanism" which
issued on Apr. 12, 1988. These prior art coffee brewers have upper
and lower chambers separated by a filter and with a moveable piston
which agitates and forces the coffee water mixture through the
filter as the coffee is brewed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improvement on such prior art
coffee brewers wherein air is injected into the brewer during the
brewing cycle so as to increase the agitation thus resulting in
more efficient brewing during the brewing cycle.
It is a feature of the present invention that air is injected into
a coffee brewer to increase the agitation between the coffee and
the water.
In one embodiment, at the same time as the ground coffee is
deposited from a dispenser into an upper brewing chamber, hot water
is admitted into the upper brewing chamber and this mixture is
agitated by the action of a moveable piston which moves upward in a
lower chamber and wherein added air pressure from an air pump is
injected to increase the agitation.
Other embodiments provide for the injection of air at different
times in the brewing cycle.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be
readily apparent from the following description of certain
preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings although variations and modifications may be
effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel
concepts of the disclosure, and in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away plan view illustrating the coffee
brewer according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the upper brewing chamber and a
portion of the lower brewing chamber;
FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a modified form of the
invention; and
FIG. 4 is a partially sectional view illustrating a further
modification of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention
comprising coffee brewer 10 which has a coffee reservoir 11 with a
coffee discharge opening 12 for discharging coffee into a funnel 21
of an upper brewing chamber 22. A water reservoir 16 dispenses hot
water through a valve 17 and a pipe 18 into the funnel 21 during
the brewing cycle. A porous separator 24 is provided with a filter
23 and a hold-down mechanism 49. The filter 23 is supplied from a
filter supply 44 which passes over rollers 43 and 42 to a filter
portion 41 outside the coffee brewer. Filter portion passes around
a weight 48 and portion 46 is connected to the filter 23 as
disclosed in the above-referenced prior art patents.
A piston 47 is moveably mounted in the lower brewing chamber 26 and
is driven by a motor 38 which has an output shaft 37 which is
connected to a link 34 pivotally connected to a link 33 by pivot
pin 36 which is pivotally connected to the piston 47. Openings 27
are formed in the lower brewing chamber 26 and a chute 32
discharges brewed coffee into a cup 28 which is mounted on a base
31. A motor 71 is connected to drive an air pump 69 which has an
output conduit 68 connected to a flexible conduit 67 that supplies
air into a regulator 66. The regulator supplies output air through
a conduit 62 to a coupling 63 best shown in FIG. 2 which has an
opening 64 which discharges air into the lower brewing chamber 26
as shown in FIGS. 2 and 1. A control 14 may be provided with an
actuator button 20 and has a first control lead 13 which is
connected to the coffee dispenser comprising the reservoir 11 and
discharge chute 12. The control 14 has a second control lead 19
which is connected to control the valve 17. The control 14 is
connected to a lead 30 which controls the motor 71 to drive the
pump 69. A lead 39 is connected to the motor 38 to control
operation of the motor 38.
In operation, when the control button 20 is energized the control
14 causes ground coffee to be discharged through the opening 12
into the funnel 21 and simultaneously hot water is discharged from
the reservoir 16 through valve 17 and pipe 18 into the funnel 21
under command of the control 14. The motor 38 is energized by the
control 14 to cause the piston 47 to move upwardly in the lower
brewing chamber 26 and simultaneously the motor 71 is energized by
the control 14 to cause the motor 71 to actuate the pump 69 to
inject air through the opening 64 into the lower brewing chamber
which increases the agitation of the coffee and hot water so as to
increase the efficiency of brewing. The piston 47 moves upwardly in
the lower chamber 26 until it is at top dead center and then starts
downwardly in the lower chamber 26 causing suction to suck the
coffee through the filter 23 into the lower brewing chamber 26. As
the upper end 25 of the piston 47 passes below the openings 27 in
the lower chamber, the brewed coffee will pass through the chute 32
into the cup 28. The air from the pump 69 may be injected into the
lower brewing chamber as the piston 47 moves upwardly in the lower
brewing chamber and also as it moves downwardly to increase the
brewing efficiency.
FIG. 3 illustrates the modified form of the invention wherein a
coffee reservoir 77 supplies coffee from a chute 78 into an opening
89 of a brewing chamber 86. Hot water is also supplied through
valve 79 and conduit 81 into the inlet 89. A piston 87 is mounted
in the brewing chamber 86 and is connected by wrist pin 92 to link
91 which is connected to link 94 which is driven by the output
shaft 93 of a motor 97. A filter 99 is supported by a porous filter
support 100 and a lower chamber 101 receives the brewed coffee and
supplies it to a conduit 102. A two-way valve 103 is controlled by
a shaft 111 of a solenoid 112. An air pump 108 has its output 110
connected to the valve 103. A conduit 104 is connected to the valve
103 and supplies coffee to a cup 106 supported on a base 108. A
control 84 with an actuating button 85 is connected by a lead 109
to the air pump 108. The control 84 is connected by a lead 113 to
the solenoid 112 to energize it. Control 84 is connected by lead 98
to the motor 97 to control it. Control 84 is connected by lead 83
to the hot water valve 79. The control 84 is connected by lead 82
to the coffee reservoir 77 to energize it.
In operation, the piston 87 is in the top position of the brewing
chamber 86 above the entrance opening 89 and when the actuator
button 85 of the control 84 is energized, coffee from the coffee
reservoir and chute 78 is dispensed into the opening 89 and
simultaneously water is dispensed through the valve 79 and the
conduit 81 into the brewing chamber below the piston 87. The valve
103 is in the position shown in FIG. 3 so that the air pump 108 can
be energized to supply air through the conduit 110 up through the
conduit 102 and chamber 101 and through the filter 99 into the
brewing chamber 86 to agitate the coffee and water mixture. The
motor 97 is also energized at this time which causes the piston 87
to move downwardly and just before it closes off the opening 89 in
its downward path, the air pump 108 is turned off and the solenoid
112 is energized to move the valve 103 so that the conduit 102 is
connected to the conduit 104 so that the brewed coffee can pass
through the filter 99 and chamber 101 into the coffee cup 106. The
valve 103 is left in the discharge position into cup 106 until the
water and coffee enter the cylinder for the next cup to be brewed
at which time the pump 108 is turned on. Before the motor 97 stops,
it continues so that the piston 87 passes beyond full down dead
center and returns to the full up position wherein the lower edge
90 of the piston 87 is above the inlet opening 89.
FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention wherein the
coffee brewer 121 comprises a brewing chamber 122 in which is
moveably mounted a piston 123 which is formed with openings 124
from the top surface of the piston to the lower surface and wherein
one-way valves 126 close the openings in the piston so that liquid
can pass down through the openings 124, but cannot pass up through
the openings 124 due to the valves 126. A filter 127 is supported
on a porous filter support 128 at the bottom of the brewing chamber
122 and a collecting chamber 129 is below the filter support 128
and has an outlet conduit 131 which supplies coffee into a cup 132
that can be placed on a base 133. The coffee reservoir 146 has a
discharge tube 147 for discharging coffee into the brewing chamber
122 and hot water valve 143 and conduit 144 discharges hot water
into the brewing chamber 122. A motor 160 drives an air pump 154
which supplies air through a conduit 156 to a regulator 157 which
has an output conduit 158 that is connected to a passage 159 which
supplies air from the pump 154 into the lower portion of the
brewing chamber 122 below the piston 123. The motor 138 has an
output shaft 136 which drives a link 137 that is connected by pin
139 to a link 141 which is connected by a pin 142 to the piston 123
so as to move it up and down in the brewing chamber 122 as the
motor 138 is energized. The control 152 has an actuating button 150
and the control 152 is connected by a lead 151 to the motor 138.
The control 152 is connected by a lead 153 to the motor 160. The
control 152 is connected to the coffee dispenser by a lead 149 to
control it. Control 152 is connected by lead 148 to the valve 143
to control it.
In operation, the piston 123 is initially in the lower portion of
the brewing chamber 122 and when the control button 158 is
energized, the control 152 dispenses coffee from the chute 147 and
water from the pipe 144 into the brewing chamber 122 which passes
through the opening 124 into the brewing chamber 122 below the
piston 123. Simultaneously, the motor 160 is energized by the
control 152 to energize the pump 154 to inject air through the
opening 159 to agitate the coffee and water mixture below the
cylinder 123. Simultaneously, the motor 138 is energized to cause
the piston 123 to move upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 4
and as it moves upwardly, the air entering the opening 159 agitates
the coffee and water mixture. The motor 138 continues to move the
piston 123 over top dead center and then drives the piston
downwardly so as to force the coffee through the filter 127 and out
the chute 131 into the cup 132. The cylinder 123 stops in the
position shown in FIG. 4 until the next cycle. The air supply from
pump 154 is turned off until the next cup is to be dispensed.
It is seen that this invention provides new and novel coffee maker
in which air is injected during the brewing cycle to increase the
agitation and increase the brewing efficiency.
Although the invention has been described with respect to preferred
embodiments, it is not to be so limited as changed and
modifications can be made therein which are within the full
intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
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